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The US. Marine Corps employs athletic trainers to assist with the physical conditioning of its personnel, as does West Point and the U.S. Navy.
Now it's the U.S. Army's turn to draw on athletic trainers to help guide recruits through the physical rigors of basic training. And it's doing so through a new collaboration between the University of South Carolina and the Fort Jackson military base called Certified Athletic Trainer--Forward Program.
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| James Mensch |
"It's exciting to be part of this and we hope it can continue," said James Mensch, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Physical Education who directs the University's graduate athletic training program.Mensch is the primary investigator of a two-year grant from the Department of Defense that, since last August, has placed eight master's athletic training program students with Fort Jackson battalions to assist in the day-to-day physical conditioning of new soldiers.
The program is similar to the clinical education Carolina master's students have received by working in the athletic programs of area high schools and colleges, except that they're also gathering data to see if their presence can make an overall difference in the Army's physical training regimen.
The students serve as advocates for soldiers by offering advice in the prevention and care of normal muscular and skeletal injuries related to physical training. The students may also make recommendations about training or treatment to help drill instructors determine an appropriate course of action.
The advice by the students helps keep the soldiers in training, or, when necessary, aids in referring them to treatment by the post's medical staff at Moncrief Hospital. Mensch thinks of them as an extension of the Troop Medical Center in the same way that athletic trainers at the University are an extension of USC's sports medicine and orthopedics department.
The students will complete master's theses/projects as part of their program of study from the information they collect during their time at Fort Jackson, probably having to do with muscular skeletal injuries sustained in military physical training, Mensch said.
Tom Dompier, an epidemiologist and post-doctoral fellow, has been hired under the grant as a University adjunct professor. He will analyze the data with Kelly Williams who oversees all research projects done at Fort Jackson's Experimentation and Analysis Element.
One of the biggest proponents of having athletic trainers at Fort Jackson has been its commander, Gen. James Schwitters, said Mensch. Schwitters likes the idea of having an advocate for the soldier on the scene and has endorsed the idea of seeing the program implemented at other Army basic training installations, Mensch added.
"We think this is a good idea and hopefully we'll get the data from this experience to back it up," said Mensch. "We already have feedback from the cadre and the drill sergeants that our students are making a difference and two of the athletic trainers have received service awards. Having them on the base has been a success and we hope to continue the relationship for years to come."
12/07
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Certified athletic trainer Rebecca Lowry of Dallas, Texas, is assigned to the 3-13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, where she recently evaluated a soldier with a shoulder injury.
